As before, a conversation with my heart started with my heart asking me a question. Since I didn’t answer the question the first time I was asked, my heart kept asking the question over a period of multiple days. Here is the result from when I finally joined the conversation…
Proving Fear and Doubt Wrong
My Heart: What do you see when you look in the mirror?
Me: I see a collection of body parts. I see a body.
My Heart: Look closer. Who do you see when you look in the mirror?
Me: I see a man looking back at me. I see myself.
My Heart: Do you like what you see?
Me: It has been a long time since I’ve done the mirror exercise recommended by Jack Canfield in his book “The Success Principles.”
My Heart: Yes, I remember back when you would look into the mirror, stare into your own eyes, and say “I love you.” The mirror exercise was very healing for you.
Me: I do like what I see when I look in the mirror. I appreciate the progress I’ve made. I am grateful for where I am.
My Heart: Yet you also see where you could improve.
Me: It’s definitely a balancing act: being grateful and aiming for more to be grateful for.
My Heart: What stops you from taking action?
Me: I can’t hide anything from you.
My Heart: I am a part of you. We are never apart. I reflect you like a mirror reflects your face. I know your thoughts and your actions. All of them. I have always been here, ready to be your greatest friend.
Me: What stops me? An image of myself deeply stuck in the past.
My Heart: Why do you still see yourself as a helpless, little boy? You know that such thinking is flawed and mistaken. You sell yourself short. You reached your full height when you were 14. You are now a tall man, taller than most people. You have inner strength, far more than you’ve realized. You are greater than you think, stronger than you know, and more powerful than you realize.
Me: I’m afraid.
My Heart: Of what? All fear can be considered to be fear of the unknown. Your future isn’t entirely unknown. You know some of your future, and you know some of the steps required to get there. So what if you’re seemingly walking in the dark part of the way? You are a beacon of light! You provide the brightness needed to continue on the path.
Me: I doubt.
My Heart: It’s natural to have fear and doubt as your companions. Don’t expect them to go away any time soon. They are with you to test your strength. How far are you willing to go to prove fear and doubt wrong?
Me: Far enough to share our private conversations publicly.
My Heart: That’s a start. What else?
Me: I keep hearing the call to be an author.
My Heart: The call is from me. It is your heart’s desire for you to be an author. What have you done about that so far?
Me: You already know the answers before you ask the questions.
My Heart: I still like to hear it from you. You listen to me. I listen to you.
Me: I’ve started multiple books.
My Heart: But you haven’t finished them.
Me: No.
My Heart: And you’ve been discouraged about that.
Me: Yes, I have.
My Heart: You’ve allowed that discouragement to keep you from taking the action required to bring those projects and others like them to completion.
Me: You said it better than I could have. What can I do to be saved?
My Heart: From this unhealthy pattern you’ve been stuck in? Forget about the high expectations you’ve placed upon yourself. At least for now. Focus only on each tiny step that you can take in each day, in each moment. Keep having these conversations with me. Keep writing whatever you can, whenever you can. Keep interviewing people to discover their experiences and viewpoints. Be the researcher that you know you’re here to be. Be the storyteller and shed light on what needs to be shared. Focus on one book at a time and see its completion as something that is possible to be accomplished.
Me: Thank you.
My Heart: I am your ally. I always have been. Who do you see when you look in the mirror?
Me: I see me, a best-selling author of multiple books.
My Heart: And before all those results, who do you see?
Me: I see a man determined to be all that he can be. I see a researcher. I see a storyteller.
My Heart: Excellent. What else?
Me: I see someone worthy of love. I see someone who is love.
My Heart: You’re getting warmer.
Me: I see wisdom and love embodied in human form.
My Heart: Forgiveness and boundaries.
Me: How do I live that?
My Heart: The knowing is in the sharing and in the living. You won’t always know where each step will lead you. You won’t always know which words will come out when you open your mouth to speak. This is by design. It’s what is meant by taking steps of faith. You didn’t know where this conversation would go, yet you chose to be a part of it anyway. Be who you see in the mirror. Let that be the image you carry of yourself from now on and for always.
Me: I have, at times, forgotten who I am. It helps to be reminded.
My Heart: And it can be easy for you to forget who you are every day. That’s why you need daily reminders.
Me: That’s why I need to keep coming back to you. You always remember.
My Heart: Who am I? I am the heart of the man who seeks to remember who he is and to live by that remembrance. I am your mirror. I reflect you. Who do you see when you look at your heart?
Conclusion
Thank you for reading. Here is what else you can do:
- Add any questions or comments you have in the comments section below;
- Subscribe so you can be notified by e-mail when I add another post on this website; and
- Share this post, including on social media.
Until next time,
James Barnett
